European software company Dassault Systèmes (Paris: DSY) made a big splash in the healthcare sector in June. The company acquired Medidata Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDSO) for $5.8 billion, the second largest digital health transaction in our database.
Medidata Solutions has a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to assist life science companies performing clinical trials with managing vast amounts of data. Medidata’s cloud-based solutions are used by 1,300 customers globally, including pharmaceutical companies and biotechs, contract research organizations, and medical centers and sites.
It was an all-cash transaction, in which Dassault paid $92.25 per share of Medidata.
This acquisition increases Dassault’s services for the life-sciences industry, integrating Medidata Solutions’ platform with its software to provide end-to-end solutions for healthcare companies. Dassault will also gain Medidata’s client base, which includes some of the top biopharma companies in the world. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.
This transaction outweighs any digital health deal this year so far, at least in terms of announced prices. The only deal to come close was Golden Gate Capital’s acquisition of a majority stake in Ensemble Health Partners from Bon Secours Mercy Health for $1.2 billion.
SaaS digital health companies are hot commodities in the sector. Their applications and services have a wide reach into nearly every healthcare sector. So far in this quarter, there have been four deals involving a SaaS company. A particular highlight is The Riverside Company’s acquisition of Champion Healthcare Technologies. The PE firm bought Champion from Jump Capital for an undisclosed price. The target company provides SaaS implant management solutions to over 500 hospitals and health systems.
